Fiber laser for high-rate ultrafast micromachining

超快激光微加工是一种依靠短脉冲光脉冲进行微加工的技术，对周围材料的热损伤可以忽略不计。此外，由于光可以通过适当的透镜聚焦到微米范围内的光斑大小，因此可以使用激光在表面上雕刻，并以非常高的空间控制切割所有类型的材料。这项技术在过去几十年中得到了发展，现在正逐步从研究转向工业应用，无论是表面的处理和功能化，微型生物医学植入物的制造，诊断平台和微型机电系统。*典型的研究系统以千赫范围内的脉冲重复频率运行，而工业交钥匙系统以MHz运行，以允许快速处理复杂的3D组件和大的表面积。目前，麦吉尔或蒙特利尔地区还没有这样的快速激光微加工系统。依赖这种加工的申请者目前将这些任务外包，这导致了失去控制、时间和金钱。麦吉尔拥有这样的系统将使我们能够完全控制用于生物医学应用和功能表面的微尺度设备的制造，从而加快我们的研究计划，使我们能够从事新的研究领域，与学术和行业合作伙伴建立新的合作关系，并为各个研究领域的学生提供激光加工方面的实践培训。*除了上述所有优势之外，材料的超高速激光加工不可避免地伴随着纳米颗粒的超高速生产。Kietzig教授在过去已经证实，激光加工的表面具有高度的反应性。因此，在大多数研究和工业设施中通常排放到环境空气中的纳米颗粒不仅会造成环境中的纳米颗粒污染，而且由于它们很容易与周围环境发生反应，潜在的危险甚至更大。除了针对表面处理和器件制造的各种项目外，我们还建议利用工业MHz激光在受控条件下以工业加工速度生产纳米颗粒，并开发(1)在微加工过程中直接对其进行功能化，使其无害和/或(2)收集这些纳米颗粒，以便在其他工艺或安全处置中进一步用作催化剂。因此，我们将雄心勃勃地开发新的微加工标准，通过设计实现无浪费和更安全的微加工。因此，获得这种激光器不仅将推动至少5个研究小组的研究努力，为学生提供最先进的激光设备的特殊培训机会，而且还将使激光微加工系统的操作员、同一家公司的同事以及最终更多吸入空气中纳米颗粒的公众受益。**

Ultrafast laser micromachining is a microfabrication technology relying on light pulses of such short duration that thermal damage of the surrounding material is negligible. Furthermore, because light can be focussed through appropriate lenses to spot sizes in the micrometer range, it is possible to use laser light to carve on surfaces and cut through the bulk of all kind of materials with very high spatial control. This technology has been developed over the past decades and is now progressively moving from research to industrial applications, be it for the processing and functionalization of surfaces, the fabrication of miniature biomedical implants, diagnosis platforms and microelectromechanical systems.***Typical research systems operate with pulse repetition rates in the kHz range, while industrial turnkey systems operate at MHz to allow for rapid processing of complex 3D components and large surface areas. Currently, no such system for rapid laser micromachining exists at McGill or in the Montreal area. The applicants that rely on such machining, presently outsource these tasks which leads to a loss of control, time and money. Having such a system at McGill will enable us to take full control over the fabrication of microscale devices for biomedical applications and functional surfaces and therewith accelerate our research programs, enable us to engage in new research fields, establish new collaborations with academic and industry partners and provide hands-on training to students of various research fields on laser machining.***Aside all the above mentioned advantages, ultrafast laser machining of materials inevitably comes with the ultrafast production of nanoparticles. Prof. Kietzig has established in the past that laser-machined surfaces are highly reactive. Accordingly nanoparticles that are commonly exhausted to the ambient air in most research and industrial facilities do not only contribute to nanoparticle pollution in the environment but are also potentially even more hazardous as they readily react with their surrounding environment. Alongside the various projects targeting surface processing and device fabrication, we propose to utilize the industrial MHz laser to produce nanoparticles under controlled conditions at industrial process rates and exploit (1) functionalizing them directly during the micromachining process to render them harmless and/or (2) collecting these for potential further use as catalysts in other processes or safe disposal. Therewith we ambition to develop new standards for micromachining that is waste-free and safer-by-design. Accordingly, the acquisition of such a laser will not only drive forward the research efforts of at least 5 research groups and provide exceptional training opportunities on state-of-the-art laser equipment to students, but also benefit the operators of laser micromachining systems, co-workers in the same company and eventually the greater public that inhales air-borne nanoparticles.**